Questioning/Challenging Cultural Beliefs About Sex & Bodies

[Karyn]

We often get users coming in with questions based in misinformation or not-quite-factual information you've gotten from your culture or community.

I'm talking about things like questions about hymens and virginity, gender roles, the impact of a person's sexual history (or them even having one at all) or what that apparently means about them, or masturbation within relationships.

It can feel hard, even disloyal in some ways, to question cultural, religious or community beliefs, especially with such loaded subjects. It can make someone who felt like an insider feel like an outsider or interloper, and once you have the facts, if you share them in places or groups where beliefs are not factual -- but they are treated like they are -- you can deal with some serious pushback.

I really admire anyone who questions: anything. Questioning is healthy and important. Correcting, pushing back against or choosing not to include destructive or false beliefs about these things is the kind of stuff that creates positive change, for everyone, and it also makes it far more likely for a person to have healthy relationships with others and their own sexuality.

If you are in the process of doing this or have already, how can we best support you? What challenges or rough stuff have you faced, and what's been empowering or otherwise great about this process for you?

If you're scared to do this, what are you most afraid of? What do you think you need to feel more able to question, push back or correct?

(Originally posted by Heather here: http://www.scarleteen.com/forum/ultimat ... 01587.html)